77: Is Your Paid Media Strategy Built for a World That No Longer Exists?

In this episode of Destination Discourse, Stuart Butler and Adam Stoker are back for a long-overdue one-on-one conversation, and they waste no time jumping into two big topics that could reshape destination marketing.First, Stuart shares why he believes AI has reached another watershed moment. He breaks down how his team at Visit Myrtle Beach is using Claude Co-Work not just as a chatbot, but as something much closer to a true teammate. From building board presentations to turning complex analytics into polished stakeholder updates in minutes, Stuart argues that AI is moving from simple assistance to real workflow integration. The conversation explores what that means for productivity, strategy, and the future value of destination marketers.Then Adam shifts the discussion to paid media and makes the case that most destination organizations are still budgeting for an old media world. In today’s attention economy, he argues, paid media should be used less as a fixed annual plan and more as a flexible engine to amplify content that has already proven it can earn attention. That sparks a lively debate between Stuart and Adam about risk, measurement, creativity, media mix, and whether smaller DMOs should make bolder moves instead of copying larger destinations.It is a classic Destination Discourse episode: part AI wake-up call, part strategy debate, and part reminder that the industry cannot afford to stand still.Topics covered: • Why Stuart sees Claude Co-Work as a major AI breakthrough • How AI is helping small teams move faster and think bigger • What happens when the cost of strategy support and execution drops close to zero • Why destination marketers may need to rethink the value they provide to stakeholders • Adam’s evolving view of paid media in the attention economy • Why high-volume, high-variety content may outperform polished annual campaigns • The role of paid media in scaling attention once it is earned • Why smaller DMOs may have more to gain by moving quicklyIf this episode got you thinking, share it with a colleague in the industry and subscribe for more conversations on where destination marketing is headed.